Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Native American Ministries Sunday/Third Sunday of Easter - 04/30/17 Sermon - “The Walk to Emmaus"

Sunday 04/30/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “The Walk to Emmaus”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Peter 1:17-23

Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:13-35

My friends, my sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome again on this the Third Sunday of Easter, where we continue to proclaim that Christ is Risen! Risen Indeed! Alleluia! We will remain in this season of resurrection, this season of new hope, until Pentecost Sunday, which is on Sunday June 4^th.

This Sunday is also Native American Ministries Sunday, which is a special giving Sunday in the life of the United Methodist Church. On this Sunday we are asked to take a collection to support Christian Native American Ministries and Native American seminary students.

 With these things said, the title of my sermon this morning is called “The Walk to Emmaus”. While “The Walk to Emmaus” is a spiritual retreat weekend, like “The Closer Walk” spiritual retreat weekend, which includes the youth spiritual retreat weekends, “Chrysalis” or “Koinonia,” they are all modeled after this morning’s story in the gospel of Luke. I am actually going to be serving on a “Closer Walk” spiritual retreat weekend in Farmington, NY, from July 27-30, as our goal on this weekend, is to walk with people as they encounter Jesus Christ.

Now I am not preaching on what these spiritual retreat weekends are this morning, but I just thought that the title of this sermon fit well, since this is what these spiritual weekends are sometimes called.

So what is “The Walk to Emmaus” story? Well first off, the “Emmaus” story is only in the gospel of Luke. If you remember from last Sunday, I discussed the “Doubting Thomas” narrative from the gospel of John. In this story, Jesus appears to the disciples, and then later to Thomas, who had doubted Jesus’ resurrection. After Jesus was resurrected, he then appeared for 40-days, before ascending into heaven. Some of the stories of these 40-days of Jesus’ “post-mortem” or “post-resurrection” appearances are sometimes given to us during this time of the year, in our church lectionary scriptures, or Sunday morning readings. The reason for this, is because Christ was resurrected on Easter, and because of this, we are now in the time period of the church calendar that is the 40-days of Christ’s “post-mortem”, or “post-resurrection” appearances.

What is interesting about “The Walk to Emmaus” or the “Emmaus” story, is that we only given one of the names of the two followers of Jesus listed in this story, which is Cleopas. We are not given the name of the other person who walked to Emmaus. Perhaps it was another man, a friend Cleopas, or perhaps it Cleopas’s wife. We just don’t know. For it just says in the gospel of Luke, “Now on the same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened (Lk. 24:13-14, NRSV).

In last week’s gospel lesson, in Thomas’s brokenness and in Thomas’s doubt, Jesus Christ showed up to reassure him. We have a similar story this week in this “Walk to Emmaus” story. The difference this week though, is that two who are walking with Jesus don’t know that it is him until the very end of the story. Last week, Thomas knew it was Jesus as soon as he saw him.

We know that Cleopas and the other walking didn’t recognize that is was the resurrected Christ in this reading from the gospel of Luke, because it says this, “While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Lk. 24:15, NRSV).

We also know that Cleopas and the other with him were struggling with Jesus’ death. We know this because when Jesus began to walk close to them and speak to them, he said, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” (Lk. 24:17, NRSV). The gospel then says, “They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, who named was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” (Lk. 24:17b-18, NRSV). Jesus then said, “What things? They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Lk. 24:19-21, NRSV).

The gospel then says that Cleopas then says,

“Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him” (Lk. 24:21b-24, NRSV).

Like the disciple Thomas from last week, Cleopas and the other with him were doubting if Jesus Christ truly rose from the dead. This is why as this gospel says, that they looked sad, as they are walking the roughly seven mile walk from Jerusalem to the village Emmaus. Further, since Cleopas and the other person with him had just experienced this, this is literally happening on Easter Sunday. We don’t read this story on Easter Sunday morning though, as we are a little busy with Christ’s resurrection.

We also know that this story is taking place on Easter Sunday, as Cleopas and the other person with him said, “Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place” (Lk. 24:21b, NRSV). Jesus Christ rose of course on the third day, on Sunday, on Easter Sunday.

So Cleopas and this other person, who could have been a friend, perhaps could have even been his wife, are headed on foot about seven miles to the village of Emmaus. As they are walking, the risen Christ appears to them, but they cannot tell who he is. They are sad, as they doubt the resurrection of Jesus.

In the rest of this story, Jesus walks with them and talks with them, and teaches them. He reassures them that Jesus is indeed risen and is sovereign, yet they don’t know who he is (Lk. 24:25-27, NRSV).

Jesus then walks ahead of them as they neared Emmaus. As this happened, Cleopas and the other person said to Jesus, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over” (Lk. 24:29, NRSV).

The gospel then says, “So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed it and broke it, and have it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight” (Lk. 24:29b-31).

So Cleopas and the other person were walking, and were sad about the death of Jesus Christ. They doubted his resurrection, and the person who they didn’t know, who walked with them, who talked with them, who reassured them, and who emboldened them, ended up being Jesus Christ. Yet they couldn’t see what was right in front of them.

After Jesus vanishes from where Cleopas and the other were staying, they remarked that when Jesus was talking with them that there “hearts were “burning” as Jesus opened the truth of the scriptures up to them (Lk. 24:32, NRSV).

Cleopas and the other person then left shortly after Jesus vanished, to head the nearly seven miles back to the Jerusalem. When they arrived they found the eleven disciples and other followers of Christ (Lk. 24:33, NRSV). Cleopas and the other person were then told that Jesus had appeared to “Simon” or the Apostle Peter that morning, and then they told the eleven disciples and the others, what they had seen and heard on “The Walk to Emmaus” (Lk. 24:34-35, NRSV).

As we heard last week with the “Doubting Thomas” story, and this week with “The Walk to Emmaus” story, Jesus comes to us when we are broken, when we have doubts, or even when all seems lost. Sometimes we see Jesus right away, yet sometimes we don’t, and yet we are told that God is always there.

I wonder who we have walked with, who we have talked to, that might have been an angel or Jesus in disguise.

In his letter to the Hebrews, the Apostle Paul writes in 13:2, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb. 13:2, NRSV). It is interesting that Jesus Christ only reveals himself to Cleopas and the other person with him after they showed him love, hospitality, and invited him to eat and stay with them.

What if I told you then, that somewhere here in this church this morning was really an angel, or maybe Jesus himself, but in disguise? Would it change how we loved and treated each other a little more? What if I told you that everyone you walked with and talked with this week might be Jesus in disguise? How would that change you? How would that change all of us?

This morning, Cleopas and the other person were walking to the village of Emmaus, and who they thought was just some guy walking and talking with them, turned out to be Jesus Christ, the risen savior of the world.

I would like to share a story with you that you may have heard before. I got this story from www.godvine.com, and it is called, “A Homeless Man”. Here is how the story goes:

“A Pastor transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000-member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food – no one in the church gave him change.”

“He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares, dirty looks, and people looking down on him. As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation. “We would like to introduce to you our new Pastor.” The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with all eyes on him. He walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited (from Matthew 25:35-45), “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ‘The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

“After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry, and many heads were bowed in shame. He then said, “Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?” He then dismissed service until next week.”

My sisters and brothers, I find it fascinating and heartwarming, that Jesus revealed himself to Cleopas and the other person this morning, only after they showed him love, caring, and hospitality. Yet he can come to us anytime.

You see we can always turn to God, as God is always with us. Jesus will come to us, but we can also find that hope in each other. When have you walked and talked with angels, and not known it? When have you walked and talked with Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, and not know it? Sometimes the hope we ask God for, comes right to us, but sometimes it is revealed to us in others. Imagine if we thought that everyone we walked with and talked with was Jesus in disguise?  

Jesus Christ, the hope of the world, is risen, is alive and well, and his grace and truth are all around us. May we find this hope, this love, this mercy, and this joy in Jesus Christ, this day and always. For perhaps he is here among us. Amen.